Visuals from the medical evacuation of three patients from the MV Hondius at Cape Verde. The patients were to be taken to the Netherlands for treatment. (Source: WHO) Another passenger on the cruise liner MV Hondius has been diagnosed with a hantavirus infection and is being treated in a Swiss hospital. He was on the ship for the first leg (Ushuaia to St Helena, April 1–24) of its current journey and became ill after he had already left the cruise, the spokesperson for Oceanwide Expedition, Kiki Hirschfeldt, said on Tuesday afternoon.
The passenger’s wife, who was also on the cruise, was asymptomatic and self-isolating, she added.
The latest diagnosis has brought the total tally to three confirmed cases of hantavirus, with another five suspected. Three people have died in the suspected outbreak, and several others have fallen ill.
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi told Parliament that the two passengers who were evacuated to South Africa — a Dutch woman who collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport and later died, and a British man who is receiving treatment in a Johannesburg hospital — had the Andes strain of hantavirus, which can be transmitted from person to person. All the other hantaviruses infect humans via rodent droppings, urine or saliva.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_597338_989329.jpg "Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. (Photo: Sharon Seretlo / Gallo Images)")
He said this was not a new virus like the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and said there was no reason to panic.
Addressing concerns about local rodent infestations, Professor Lucille Blumberg of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases clarified that African rodents have never tested positive for hantaviruses.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) traced the outbreak back to a Dutch couple (aged 70 and 69) who visited Argentina, where the Andes virus is endemic, before boarding the MV Hondius on 1 April. Both have since died: the husband on board on 11 April, and the wife after collapsing at OR Tambo International Airport on 2 May. The death toll also includes a German tourist who died aboard the ship, while a British passenger is in a private Johannesburg hospital following an emergency medical evacuation.
Motsoaledi noted that the Dutch woman initially bypassed detection at OR Tambo Airport, as she was asymptomatic and passed temperature screenings while travelling on a transit visa to repatriate her husband’s body. Her condition only became apparent when she collapsed at the airport, leading to her emergency transfer to a Kempton Park hospital.
Health authorities have identified 62 potential contacts, including airport staff, medical first responders and fellow flight passengers. While 42 individuals have been successfully traced, all contacts will undergo monitoring for up to six weeks to account for the virus’s incubation period.
On Wednesday, Hirschfeldt confirmed that three patients had been medically evacuated from the MV Hondius. Two were in a serious condition, but had not tested positive for hantavirus, while a third had not shown any symptoms but was closely associated with the German tourist who died aboard the ship.
She said the medical team on the ship would be strengthened by two infectious disease specialists from the Netherlands.
Hirschfeldt said the MV Hondius was headed for the Canary Islands, but negotiations with regional authorities were ongoing to determine if passengers would be permitted to disembark there.
Reuters reported that Spain had agreed that the ship could dock at the Canary Islands port of Tenerife within the next three days.
Hirschfeldt said at this stage she was unable to confirm the details of onward travel for guests. “This is dependent on medical advice and the outcome of stringent screening procedures. Close cooperation continues with local and international authorities.”
The director-general of the WHO, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said that the risk of an outbreak was low. He said the WHO would continue monitoring passengers on board and those who have disembarked. DM